The men’s and women’s basketball conference tournaments are tipping off Wednesday March 13th- March 16th in both the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
The SWAC tournament will take place in Birmingham, Alabama, at Bartow Arena. The women tipoff at 11 a.m. with the No. 2 seed Grambling State Tigers (15-3 SWAC) against the No. 7 seed Florida A&M Rattlers (8-10 SWAC).
The Rattlers had the top scorer in the SWAC, Ahriahna Grizzle, who averages 18.5 points and a conference-best 35% from the 3-point line. Grizzle was named the women’s Player of the Year.
The top-seeded women’s team, the Jackson State Tigers, play the No. 8 seed Prairie View A&M Panthers (7-11 SWAC) at 6:30 p.m. Jackson State claimed their fifth regular season championship. The conference named head coach Tomekia Reed Coach of the Year for the third consecutive year and Angel Jackson Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive year.
The Tigers secured the top spot with a perfect record in conference play, going 18-0 and a 23-6 overall record. The Tigers also had the top-ranked defense in the SWAC this year and the No. 2 offense throughout the regular season.
Day two of the tournament tips off with the No. 3 seed, Southern Jaguars (13-5 SWAC), taking on the No. 6 seed Alcorn State Braves (8-10 SWAC) at 11 a.m. Southern shot a SWAC-best 31% from the 3-point line as a team.
The ladies of Arkansas-Pine Bluff (11-7 SWAC) come in as the No. 4 seed, taking on the No. 5 seed Alabama A&M (10-8 SWAC).
Arkansas-Pine Bluff had the top-rated offense in the SWAC this year and one of the best scorers in the conference in terms of points per game (16.2), Zaay Green.
The men’s tournament starts at 2 p.m. with the No. 2 seeded Alcorn State Braves (13-5 SWAC) taking on the No. 7 seed Alabama A&M (9-9 SWAC).
The top-seeded men’s team, Grambling State, won its second consecutive regular season title with a 14-4 conference record. Defense carried Grambling to the top seed, coming into the tournament with the No. 3 scoring defense in the SWAC.
The Tigers head coach, Donte’ Jackson won his second consecutive Coach of the Year.
Grambling State takes on the No. 8 seed Alabama State (8-10 SWAC) in the last game of the tournament’s first day at 8:30 p.m.
On day two of the tournament, the No. 3 seed, Texas Southern (12-6 SWAC), faces the No. 6 seed, Jackson State (11-7 SWAC). Jackson State has the league’s top scorer Ken Jackson, with 18.9 points a game. He was named Player of the Year by the conference. The Tigers also had the Defensive Player of the year, Jordan O’Neal.
The No. 4 seed, the Southern Jaguars, tip-off against the No. 5 seed, Bethune-Cookman, in the last game of the day at 8:30 p.m. Southern comes in with the top-rated scoring defense in the SWAC, and Bethune-Cookman has the second-ranked scoring offense in the SWAC.
All games will be aired on ESPN Plus.
